The Murdoch Children's Institute in Australia is helping scientists use stem cell medicine and artificial intelligence to develop accurate treatments for pediatric heart disease, the leading cause of death and disorders in children.
Around 260,000 children die from heart disease worldwide each year. In the United States, children are born with a heart defect every 15 minutes.
“We're really interested in understanding how children develop heart disease and where we can stop it,” said David Elliott, leader of the Murdoch Children's Institute (MCRI).
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, mother of Rupert Murdoch, founder of Fox News, helped find an Australian MCRI. The Institute is partnering with Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco for its decoded Broken Hearts program.
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Amelia and Elijah Marinson are two children who can benefit from this study. The brothers live in Melbourne and have the same genetic heart condition.
“She woke up and we took her to a local emergency, she was swollen,” said Ebony Marrison, Amelia and Elijah's mother. “We thought she was just sleepy, but it turns out she was in and out of consciousness.”
Amelia was two years old when doctors discovered her condition.
Ebony Marrison of the center sits with two children, Amelia and Elijah, who live in the same genetic heart condition. Both cases are registered in the decoded Broken Hearts program. (Fox News)
“After doing a chest x-ray, they realized her heart was much bigger than it should have been and that she had heart failure,” Marrison said.
Amelia had waited almost a year for her heart transplant. After successful treatment, she lives an almost normal life. Her brother Elijah's condition was discovered during a preventive diagnosis.
“We didn't know what would have him in a heart condition either, so it was pretty shocking. It made him check so many things and completely ruled out nothing wrong,” Marrison said. “We can expect bad things, so it felt a bit scary, but he's really stable and really healthy so far, and he doesn't really need treatment or treatments yet.
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Elliott said the goal is to find a diagnosis and treatment before a child like Elijah needs a transplant.
David Elliott, leader of the cardiac group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, examines the heart image on the monitor. (Fox News)
“For many people, this disease is absolutely important if you can fix an unknown issue,” Elliott said. “People with very severe heart disease need three surgeries before they turn five. And it's very exhausting for the families involved. And what we really want to do is really progress and those kids have a more effective life.”
The MCRI is part of the Royal Children's Hospital, which treats approximately 700 cardiac conditions each year. All cases are registered in the Decode Broken Hearts program.
“We can use a special technique called reprogramming, so we'll take a small sample of this child's blood,” Elliott said. “We can then create heart cells, and those heart cells have an accurate replica of a child's heart cells in the laboratory.”
Researchers then create additional small heart replicas to modify their functionality, allowing for the treatment of royal children's patients.
Scientists use patients' blood samples to study and study small cardiac replicas supported by artificial intelligence. (Fox News)
“We are using all of these different tools and technologies to understand how diseases develop and where we can use precision medicine to find new treatments to help children with heart disease,” Elliott said.
One of the latest tools with the help of the Gladstone Institute is artificial intelligence.
“Gladstone brings the expertise and computational know-how built around the Bay Area to use AI to study disease,” Elliott said. “What AI can do is millions of experiments on computers before they can be brought into the cell, so we can really target and see the ideal locations that will help us cure illnesses.”
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Amelia and Elijah are also involved in research to further treat conditions like theirs.
“If it helps a single family, it's worth it,” Marinson said. “All staff you're in touch with and doing research at the hospital make a huge difference in the lives of the kids and everyone in the families of these children.”
Donate or learn more about the Decode Broken Hearts program. go.fox/mcri.
